After 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, Marvel experienced more than a year of “downtime”. “WandaVision” at the beginning of 2021 brought us back to this vast universe and kicked off Marvel’s fourth phase.
The fourth phase includes a series of films and series released by Marvel from 2021 to 2022, starting with “WandaVision” (not counting television specials) and ending with “Black Panther 2” released on Double Eleven.
As the opening work of Marvel’s television era, “WandaVision” achieved a perfect fusion of sitcom and MCU, with a stunning scene unfolding.
However, unexpectedly, “WandaVision” peaked right at the start; subsequent series like “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Loki” never reached that height again; since “Black Widow”, Marvel films have been unable to reach the mainland big screen, and their popularity has plummeted.
Of course, Marvel is still the industry benchmark; “Spider-Man: No Way Home” even saved the cinema industry with a box office of $1.9 billion. However, we cannot ignore various phenomena: Marvel has encountered a decline in reputation both in North America and globally; once loyal fans, who used to watch every single release, have either abandoned it or are on the verge of doing so: some stopped at “Black Widow”, some were discouraged by “Ms. Marvel”, and others haven’t looked back since Iron Man’s snap.
No genre is eternal; whether Marvel can learn from these issues will determine how far superhero films can go.
1. Really Can’t Keep Up Anymore
During the 11 years of the “Infinity Saga” series (covering phases one, two, and three), Marvel produced a total of 23 films, averaging two to three releases per year. This was entirely acceptable for the average viewer, even those who joined midway could easily catch up with earlier films.
But the “Multiverse Saga” series (covering phases four, five, and six) is different. In 2020, Marvel did not release anything, but production continued, leading to seven Marvel films, seven live-action series, two animated series, and two specials being released in 2021 and 2022.
It is not an exaggeration to say that there is almost a Marvel release every month.
Previously, most Marvel series were merely nominal; whether or not one watched “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, the “Defenders” series, or “Inhumans” (does anyone even remember that?) had no impact on watching the films. However, in the fourth phase, Marvel Studios began producing their own series, with “WandaVision”, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, and “Loki” being direct continuations of the story from “Avengers: Endgame”, and the production quality is close to that of feature films, making them impossible to miss.
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” may only have the butt to continue the quality of the “Captain America” series
But do these series really surpass those produced in the pre-Disney+ era? Even the highest quality “WandaVision” saw its magical aura quickly fade in the last few episodes, ultimately serving only as a prelude to “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and a setup for “Secret Invasion”.
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” took six episodes to pave the way for the character taking the shield in “Captain America 4”, with only Bucky’s confrontation with the past being somewhat well done;
“Loki” can be said to be a huge clickbait; it is not about the Loki we are familiar with, but rather to introduce Kang the Conqueror, the main antagonist of the “Multiverse Saga”;
“Hawkeye” does not aim to bring the acclaimed comic “Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon” to the small screen, nor is it to give this underestimated archer a personal series, but rather to pass the bow to Kate, setting up the spinoff “Echo”;
Even the animated series “What If…?” is adding bricks to the multiverse, while “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk” are best left unmentioned; the series with the least connection to the main universe, “Moon Knight”, is refreshing, but largely due to Oscar Isaac’s personal charm.
After Marvel Studios took the series under its wing, although it could use the same actors as in the films and had massive budget support, it could only be produced to the specifications of limited series, which is far from showcasing the advantages of storytelling on the small screen.
These series ultimately devolved into superhero handover ceremonies, extended trailers for films, or joke compilations, falling far short of being excellent television.
2. The Higher The Expectations, The Greater The Disappointment
There is a term in English called “Hype”, which means “excitement” or “promotion”; for example, when news of “Spider-Man 3” featuring “three spiders” comes out, or when “Doctor Strange 2” supposedly has John Krasinski, we can say – everyone is “Hyped”.
Blockbusters should have big selling points, as this can create the strongest communication effect and attract more viewers into theaters. However, films like “Spider-Man 3” and “Doctor Strange 2” seem to have turned into “collection of selling points”.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man finally experiences real loss and growth in “Spider-Man 3”, but the main purpose of the entire film is still to achieve the ultimate spectacle of “three spiders together”, stirring up nostalgia for the previous two Spider-Men.
In “Doctor Strange 2”, the endless surprise cameos also made this film less focused on Doctor Strange’s personal journey, resembling more of a short video compilation.
The platter-like Marvel films have become fast consumer goods, which can only achieve the best effect when consumed immediately after production – this also explains why these two films received lower ratings when they reached Chinese audiences months later.
The Marvel series in the fourth phase is similarly addicted to creating “explosive points” with cameos: “WandaVision”‘s Quicksilver, “Hawkeye”‘s Yelena, and “Ms. Marvel”‘s Captain Marvel.
The most ironic part is a scene in the third episode of “She-Hulk”, where she looks at the camera and says, “You didn’t think this was going to be one of those shows with a weekly cameo, did you? Don’t forget, this show is about me!” However, “She-Hulk” only has 25 minutes of actual content per episode, and has to fit in Abomination, Wong, Daredevil… Well, these cameos might indeed excite people for a moment, but the subsequent disappointment is unavoidable.
Recently, Ryan Reynolds joked that he has no idea what “Deadpool 3” is about, but Hugh Jackman is confirmed to return as Wolverine. While the first part is a joke, the logic of production driven by selling points will inevitably overlook story and character development; let’s hope “Deadpool 3” doesn’t lose sight of both.
3. Is This the Female Hero We Want to See?
The lack of diversity in the “Infinity Saga” series has long been criticized. One of the few missteps in Marvel’s perfect track record was allowing DC’s “Wonder Woman” to take the lead, with the first female hero as the protagonist only appearing in the 21st MCU film, “Captain Marvel”. The LGBTQ community was only briefly represented in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame”.
The first shot of Marvel’s fourth phase was “Black Widow”, a long-overdue standalone film that contained nostalgia for the “Infinity Saga”, a frivolous presentation of female liberation themes, and a reunion of Black Widow with her “family”, making her sacrifice harder to reconcile: if she chose to sacrifice herself because Hawkeye had a family, what about her sister? Is her own life not important?
“Black Widow”‘s post-credit scene is only to set up “Hawkeye”
Next is “Eternals”, where both leaders of the Eternals are female, but Ajak quickly disappears, and while Sersi is established as the new leader, her presence among the characters is very weak, and her abilities are quite inexplicable; Angelina Jolie’s Thena is insane for half the time, which hardly qualifies as satisfactory female characters.
Wanda is the main antagonist in “Doctor Strange 2”, but she is actually influenced by the “Darkhold”, having gone through a painful life without redemption, ultimately sacrificing herself (and cleverly using a distant view, just in case she needs to resurrect);
One major gimmick of “Thor: Love and Thunder” is the female Thor, but Jane Foster gets cancer, and guess what happens in the end? She still sacrifices herself for Thor (with the added concept of Valhalla, making women’s deaths lose their weight)!
The number of female characters in Marvel’s fourth phase has noticeably increased, leading some to say the MCU has become the M-She-U; however, I believe these individuals need not worry, as the increase in female characters does not mean women have gained a seat at the table; Marvel is merely catering to market demand and does not genuinely want to create quality female characters.
You must remember that when Iron Man first appeared, he was an arrogant playboy, only revealing he was Iron Man at the end of the first film, ultimately becoming the hero who saved the world and paid the price with his life; Steve was initially a selfless and noble young man, but in the end, he chose a bit of selfishness to live the life he wanted;
Thor also experienced loss of power, hammer, homeland, and family, ultimately becoming the clown in “Thor: Love and Thunder”.
In contrast to the complex and rich development of these male characters, Jane Foster’s transformation into the female Thor is completely omitted, Kate Bishop in “Hawkeye” can match the new “Black Widow” right off the bat, and Jennifer in “She-Hulk” gains almost side-effect-free superpowers just from a few drops of blood – it all feels too easy, making it hard to believe and even harder to relate to.
The female characters in “Loki”‘s Sylvie, “Moon Knight”‘s May Calamawy, and “Shang-Chi”‘s Xu Xialing… the only impression these characters leave is that they are “strong”; however, we all know a simple truth: strength is not proven by fists.
The flat characterization of female characters in “She-Hulk” has reached its peak, as characters become vehicles for identity politics, and the dialogue is filled with preachy social issues; such a series is unlikely to be appreciated by anyone.
4. New Heroes Underperform Expectations
With the older generation retiring, there has yet to be a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe capable of carrying the flag. The new generation, like Spider-Man, only matures in his third film, but is soon stripped from the entire universe; Thor is portrayed as a fool; Doctor Strange, after being dumbed down in “Spider-Man 3”, causes even greater chaos and still hasn’t found his place; Captain Marvel, while powerful, fails to resonate with audiences; frankly, not many people like her.
Captain Marvel appears in “Ms. Marvel”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is the first superhero film with an Asian lead, but it feels like it has done its best; compared to Marvel films, it resembles a Disney live-action movie. Yes, I’m talking about “Raya and the Last Dragon”, can you expect a Disney princess to become a backbone of the Avengers?
“Eternals” occupies a more awkward position, as the most critically panned work of the fourth phase, the story’s events, while global in nature, have no representation in other Marvel films, and the subsequent narrative direction seems to be off-planet;
In “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, Falcon, who takes up Captain America’s shield, treats terrorists as martyr heroes, and his response to Congress feels like a tantrum, making it hard to generate interest in “Captain America 4”.
To be continued tomorrow